Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

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norm
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Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by norm »

The weather is just too nice to not get out on the water but not so great that I want to burn vacation time. So, with a high tide time of 4:00pm, Bea drove in and met me at 3:20 across from the Dorchester National Grid gas tank. The morning rain had moved offshore and it was bright and clear. The temperature on my truck's thermometer read about 70 degrees. The wind was forecast to be increasing but there was just a little breeze near shore.

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The original plan was to head over to the South Boston waterfront, but the breeze was blowing in that direction so we'd have to be careful about starting back in plenty of time to get back before dark. We considered heading into the Neponset River first, but we just did that trip last fall. So, we decided to check out the shoreline by the Savin Hill Yacht Club instead and headed toward UMass Boston.

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We paddled into the cove between the yacht club and the Vietnam War Memorial Park and found a new camping spot in the high grass hidden from the park visitors.

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Continuing further into Savin Hill Cove, we checked out the underside of the recently rebuilt bridge where Savin Hill Cove leads into Pattens Cove.

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Pattens Cove is the little body of water beside the Boston Globe. We saw some Canadian Geese here, but my camera was acting up and all of my picture were out of focus.

Next we headed over to look at some sculptures that are on the road leading into UMass Boston. I couldn't figure out if the yellow one is supposed to look like something, but I know that to the left of it is just a giant propeller blade.

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The UMass research vessel, Columbia Point, looks a lot less threatening than the last time I was on the water with it. It put out a huge wake for us during our fall trip in Boston Harbor on the way in to the Locks and Charles River.

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When we got out of the protected coves, we found that the wind had picked up considerably and there was a pretty good chop on the water...the type you don't want to have to be fighting at the end of the day to get back to your take-out. So, we decided to fight it now and head into the Neponset River instead of going to the beaches of South Boston. The cameras were put away and we made the half-mile crossing directly into the wind and toward the gas tank. After rounding the gas tank we were still in the wind but there was a footbridge over to our right that needed exploring.

I got a better picture of it after we passed under it - looking back toward the Old Colony Yacht Club on the left.

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The bridge leads to a little park that I believe was created by some illegal dumping done back in the 70's or 80's. It has now been turned into a park. It seems they just named it after the nearby road and call it Victory Park.

This is nice looking area behind the island and it was a nice break after a mile of paddling into a headwind. It looks so serene.

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But, in reality, we are just in a little stretch of water between this little island park and the very noisy, busy, rush hour traffic on the Southeast Expressway on our right.

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Rather than turning up-river, back into the headwind, we stayed along the expressway and headed up the little creek by Tenean Beach where there was a guy throwing a ball in the water for his dog to fetch.

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The city has done a nice job fixing up this area. It appears to have a good sized parking lot and new playground equipment. We could see signs for the Harborwalk, so I expect this is one of the places people park for walking in this area.

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We went all the way up the creek as far as we could go before turning back. Looking at Tenean Beach on the way out made me think of how desolate this area was years ago. Isn't this where Whitey Bulger and his gang buried some of their victims?

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Passing this buoy made me think of the nautical chart reading classes that we've been discussing lately. I think I can figure out where I am on the chart right now! (But I'll have to dig out my glasses to read the numbers on the chart.)

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We still had some time to paddle but weren't interested in heading further up the Neponset River, so we decided to swing back around the gas tank and into Dorchester Bay. This side of the gas tank looks so blah and colorless compared to the other side.

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Here's a view of my normal position at about this time on a weekday...sitting in traffic on the Dorchester Bay draw bridge.

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And the nicer, brighter side of the gas tank.

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There was a big work barge with a crane in the middle of the bay. At first I thought it might be there for dredging, but after we took a closer look at the Dorchester Yacht Club, it became clear that it was there for work to re-inforce the support pilings under part of the club's buildings. This picture is a little hard to make out, but it shows a new I-beam that has been slid in and placed onto new metal pilings. There were more metal pilings in place but no more I-beams yet. Bea has been spending so much time with Russ the engineer, that she found it necessary to take a closer look and inspect the
work. Here, she has paddled in amongst the old pilings.

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A more familiar view of the Dorchester Yacht Club for those of us that drive by it daily.

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After a spin around the bay we headed back under the draw bridge and over to our take-out spot.

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After we had loaded our boats onto the cars, I noticed Bea taking another picture, so I copied her, grabbed my camera and took a quick shot of the sunset.

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Here is a topo map of the area with our track highlighted.

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A few specs from the trip:

Launch time: 3:38pm
Take-out time: 6:05pm
Total Distance Paddled: 5.7 miles


Thanks Bea for driving into Boston to maximize our paddling time. Hopefully we can do this a few more times this spring.

Norm
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kayakerjnj
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by kayakerjnj »

It was a beauty! I hated to miss it, but happy you two got out.

Great pictures!
Paddle with a big smile, its contagious 8)


Jordan
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Birdseye
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by Birdseye »

Hey... where are the pictures of marina bay :P

Just kidding. Looked like a nice paddle.
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norm
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by norm »

Nelson - I forgot to mention in the trip report that my phone rang when we were in the middle of Dorchester Bay at about 5:30. I thought it might be you calling from the expressway. :)
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Birdseye
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by Birdseye »

norm wrote:Nelson - I forgot to mention in the trip report that my phone rang when we were in the middle of Dorchester Bay at about 5:30. I thought it might be you calling from the expressway. :)


I was eating dinner at 5:30.
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NorwayLady
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by NorwayLady »

We have used the gas tank launch spot a few times in the past year. Really easy. At high tide it is a short carry from car to water's edge:
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Always fun kayaking with Norm. He grew up in this area, and I love hearing stories about illegal dumping turning into parks and where Whitey Bulger dumped the bodies...
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This billboard caught my eye. It's how I try to live my life (although Nelson thinks otherwise ......play, play play.......)
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And yes, we have seen the UMass Boston boat before. Brought back some memories:
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Sue and Norm not backing down!
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Thank you for a beautiful paddle, Norm. Great way to end the day! Work, play, work, play......
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NorwayLady
Bea
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Birdseye
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by Birdseye »

This billboard caught my eye. It's how I try to live my life (although Nelson thinks otherwise ......play, play play.......)


You're absolutely right. The life of Reiley I tell ya.
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KAYAK KEN
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Re: Dorchester Shoreline - March 13, 2012

Post by KAYAK KEN »

That launch area is a bit funky ,but I really like it , great place to access the bay and islands. I sail from that launch too.You just don't want to be there at crazy low tide, pretty mucky. Great report and pictures from both you guys. Thanks, Ken
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